September 18, 2024
It’s been a busy 2024 for the Water and Wetlands Stewards, and there are still months left in the year. Here’s a summary of some of their accomplishments to date:
- Stewards coordinated with Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA) on comments on Wetland Conservation Act rules.
- They communicated with the DNR about Minnesota’s wake boat regulations. This resulted in team member Mark Strand being invited onto the group developing a boater education curriculum.
- Stewards presented a talk to First Unitarian Society:“What are the Top Water Issues Facing Minnesota Today?”
- Bob Suchanek, an active member in the group, has written several natural history blogs for the chapter’s website.
- The Stewards submitted letters to several legislators about regulating wake boats.
- The chapter signed on to an alert about the 100% e-waste recycling bill
- The chapter signed on to an MCEA letter supporting a bill that clarifies the use of the Public Waters Inventory, and the team submitted written testimony on SF 3558, the bill that clarifies the use of the Public Waters Inventory
- The team requested chapter sign-on to a Minnesota Environmental Partnership letter regarding a bill to require notification of drain tile installation or modification.
- Steward Sheila Wiegman commented on plans and permits for Lake Hiawatha. She pushed for a trash standard, and they implemented a device to remove trash. Also, MPCA now acknowledges the need for enforcing trash removal as a Water Quality Standard: this was a big step.
- The team coordinated with Forests and Wildlife Stewards to push the polluter capture initiative in the chapter.
- With the Zero Waste team, the Stewards coordinated a PFAS comments letter, and comments on 3M NPDES permit.
- Stewards met with Executive Committee members Constance Carlson and Rhyan Schicker about rural outreach and sustainable agriculture issues.
The Stewards also coordinated with partners, including Minnesota Environmental Partners Water Cluster; the Land Stewardship project, MCEA; CURE; and the Prove it First Coalition on sulfide mining.